Change My Way of Living
by NeverWonder
Summary: For three years it's been just Mommy and Sophie, and that's the way she likes it; Sophie's mother is her best friend, but when Finn Hudson walks into their lives, sweeping Rachel off her feet, everything changes. AU!


**Title:** Change My Way of Living  
><strong>PairingCharacters:** Rachel/Finn  
><strong>Rating:<strong> G  
>Word Count: ~6,424<br>Disclaimer: This _Glee_ fanfiction is based upon the television show of the same name. All characters and situations other than my own are sole property of Ryan Murphy Productions and 20th Century Fox Television.  
><strong>Spoilers:<strong> None  
><strong>Summary: <strong>For three years it's been just Mommy and Sophie, and that's the way she likes it; Sophie's mother is her best friend, but when Finn Hudson walks into their lives, sweeping Rachel off her feet, everything changes.  
><strong>AN:** Almost all the AU fics I've seen like this are single father!Finn, and I thought maybe I'd turn it around and do single mother!Rachel; this was really difficult because it's mostly a child's perspective and I've never done that.

_i._

For three years it's been just Mommy and Sophie, and that's the way she likes it; she gets to go to rehearsals with her mommy when she isn't at the Montessori school, and she sits in the front row at every performance. Everyone calls her Princess Sophie and gives her candy when her mommy isn't looking, and she plays in her mommy's stage make up sometimes. At home they sing and dance and do everything together; they're happy, and they don't need anyone else. It doesn't occur to her, though she is very smart for a five year old or so her mommy says, that her mommy might be lonely because how can she be lonely when she has Sophie to sing with all the time. She's never really worried about losing her because she's Mommy, and Mommies stay; even when she's very busy her mommy always makes time for her. She's pretty convinced that she is all her mommy needs, and she doesn't understand why that ever has to change.

She knows that her daddy is gone, and her mommy always say that he's in a better place; she doesn't remember him much because she was only two at the time of the accident, but her mommy always says she looks a lot like him. She's seen pictures of him, like the one that used to be beside Rachel's bed but is now hidden in her room, and she sometimes holds it up next to her face while she's looking in the mirror, just to see if it's true. Her hair's long and dark brown like Rachel's, and she's got the same sort of olive skin; but her eyes are the bright golden brown color, and she's got her daddy's nose. Sometimes she wishes that her daddy was still there cause him not being there makes her mommy sad every once in awhile, but most times it's ok cause she and Rachel are enough for each other.

Rachel sits behind her as she colors a picture of a unicorn, braiding her hair and humming softly, but when the phone rings she practically jumps from the couch and races across the room to answer it; it's not the first time she's done it in the past few weeks. It happens a lot, actually, and she doesn't understand what's so special about phone calls now. Sophie's started notice a lot of things like that; her mommy sings a lot louder now, and she's always on the phone, giggling and smiling. She knows she should be happy that her mommy seems happier, because that the nice thing to do, but she can't help but feel like something is changing. She doesn't want things to change. Rachel settles back on the couch behind her, immediately returning to her braids, and she kisses the top of her head.

"Sweetie, how would you like to spend tomorrow evening with Aunt Tana and Uncle Puck? You can play with Rebecca."

"Where are you going?" She asks as her mommy ties off the first braid.

"To have dinner with a friend," this is the third time in two weeks that her mommy has gone to dinner with a friend and hasn't taken her; she doesn't understand because she and her mommy do _everything_ together.

"Why can't I go, Mommy? I never get to go with you." But Rachel just finishes of her other braid and tells her that it's a grown up thing.

Things are definitely changing, and she _hates_ it; she doesn't want to go to Aunt Tana's to play with Becca while her mommy goes to dinner with some friend. She's never met this friend, but she hates him even though she knows it's not nice to hate; she knows it's a man because she picked up the phone once when he called their apartment, but Rachel got to the phone a minute later so she didn't know his name. His name doesn't matter though because he's changing things, and she doesn't want things to change. She wants it to go back to the way things were, when the only grown up things her mommy did were rehearsals and she didn't go out with this friend all the time. She doesn't understand why her mommy needs a friend to go out with anyway.

_ii._

"There's no need to feel bad about it, Rachie. It's been three years since Charlie—"

"I know, San, but what about Sophie? I don't want to upset her. I've always been home, even if she was at a sleepover or spending the night at my dads'."

"It's been three years; I think Charlie would want you to be happy, don't you? You've been seeing this guy for what, five months?" A small nod answers the question. "Hell, I was banging Puck long before we hit five months. I say if you want to spend the night with him, go for it. Puck and I'll take Sophie, and she and Becca can have a sleepover."

Puck carries Sophie up to the stage from the back of the theater on his shoulders, and she's giggling as she pops a lollipop back into her mouth; she loves the theater mostly because she likes to play on stage while her mommy gets ready to leave. It's bigger than the stage her ballet class uses for recitals, and the lights are brighter; sometimes the people her mommy works with dance with her, and that's always fun. But she knows she's not allowed on stage this afternoon cause the fake buildings and stuff cover it. She claps over Puck's head as her mommy does a graceful jump off the stage.

"I see someone's been spoiling my little ladybug with sugar again." Rachel laughs softly, looking around to see which member of the cast is was this time; she spots Tony, the man playing Roger Davis opposite Santana's Mimi Marquez in their revival of _RENT_, grinning, and she remembers just how grateful she is that the most to the cast love her daughter so much.

"Mommy, Uncle Puck says I'm gonna spend the night with him and Aunt Tana and Becca." Her mommy nods. "Is it cause you're gonna see your friend again?"

"Uh huh, and I'll come pick you up in the morning to take you to ballet." Rachel ignores the meaningful look she gets from Puck that clearly says she should explain things to her daughter.

"How come you can't come get me tonight?" She honestly doesn't understand this at all; she's gotten used to her mommy having dinner with her friend—not that she likes it—but she doesn't see why she can't come pick her up like always.

"Don't you want to have a sleepover with Becca? Aunt Tana says she's gonna make chocolate covered popcorn." She doesn't argue with Rachel because it'll only make her sad, and she hates when her mommy is sad. "You'll have lots of fun, sweetie."

Five minutes later, when she's getting buckled in the backseat of the car, she sees her mommy leaving the theater, a bag over her shoulder; there's this really tall man standing by the door, and he puts his arms around her mommy the way Uncle Puck does Aunt Santana. She's pretty sure that's not how friends hug because he practically lifts Rachel off the ground. Her eyes go wide when she notices that he's kissing her, which is kind of gross, and she tugs on Puck's sleeve and points; she wants to ask him about the tall man, who is like a giant really, cause he's smiling like he knows him and is happy that this giant is kissing her mommy. He just tells her that the giant is a friend from the fire station and that they'd better hurry because they needed to go by her apartment to pick up her bag and then go pick up Rebecca from piano lesson.

She really does love spending the night with Becca because Aunt Santana and Uncle Puck let her stay up extra late, even when she has ballet in the morning, and have all sorts of junk food that Rachel wouldn't even allow in the apartment, but it's not the same when she thinks about the fact that her mommy isn't coming to get her tonight because she's with the tall man from the fire station. She still doesn't understand it because even if she's out with him she should be able to pick her up on her way back home, unless she wasn't going home, which didn't make any sense at all. Her mommy was a grownup, and grownups didn't have sleepovers, right? She asks Puck about it, but he just shrugs her off and tells her to ask her mother; she knows that Rachel won't give her a straight answer either because adults like to keep secrets and treat her like she's dumb.

Later that night when she's supposed to be in bed, the phone rings; Sophie hopes it's her mommy, calling to say good night because she always does when she sleeps over somewhere, and so she slips out of bed, leaving Becca still asleep. Santana answers the phone in her bedroom, and as she gets closer to the bedroom door, Sophie can hear her talking and laughing; at the mention of her mommy's name, she hurries down the hall to the living room and picks up the cordless phone there. Her mommy and Santana sometimes do this thing where one of them will answer the phone and the other listens with the other; it's usually about stuff for work, but sometimes it's because one of their friends has called and is being silly. She knows it's not polite to be nosy because Rachel is very serious about manners, but she wants to know what's going on.

"She's in bed, Rachie; the girls had a great time, and they wore themselves out." Sophie bites her lip as she listens. "She's fine so why don't you just relax and enjoy the rest of your night."

"I just wanted to say goodnight; I should've called earlier, but I was more than a little bit distracted." Rachel laughs lightly, and she calls out to someone in the room. "I'm coming, Finn. Just wanted to check on Sophie."

"I love how much you love her." A man's deep voice is suddenly loud and clear. "You are such an awesome mom. It's really amazing, baby."

"OK, this is more than I _ever_ wanted to hear so why don't you go back to banging, and let me get some sleep, since I'm not getting any action tonight with your munchkin here."

"Good night, San, and thank you for keeping her tonight. I really appreciate it." Rachel sounds really happy. "Kiss Sophie for me, and I'll see you in the morning."

They hang up, and Sophie quickly sets the phone down, running to the bedroom as fast as her legs will carry her because she hears Santana heading down the hall; she pretends to be asleep when Santana enters the room, squeezing her eyes shut tight so her aunt won't be able to tell that she's still awake. She curls up with her stuffed turtle, thinking about how stupid the name Finn is and wondering what's so special about this stupid Finn man that makes her mommy want to spend the night with him.

_iii._

Becca's sick, and Aunt Santana has a meeting with the man who makes the costumes for the play, so Uncle Puck comes to babysit her; Rachel's getting dressed when he gets there, and Sophie greets him with a sort of half smile. Her mommy is going out with that friend again, and she's missing their Saturday shopping trip because _he_ asked her to help him with some art thing that's only open today; sure, she promises they'll just go shopping on Sunday, but it isn't the same because they _always_ go shopping on Saturdays and get ice cream or hot chocolate after. She knows that the trip is just to go grocery shopping, but it's still something she and her mommy do every week no matter what. Puck offers to take her, but she doesn't want him to do it; she wants her mommy to take her because it's supposed to be their thing. This stupid Finn guy ruins everything.

"Uncle Puck, does Mommy love him more than she loves me?" She asks the question while he's sitting next to her with a magazine in his lap, and he sort of twitches.

"Of course not, Short Stack." He ruffles her hair, and she frowns up at him.

"But she sees him all the time, and sometimes she spends the night there while I'm with Papa and Grampy or having a sleepover with Becca. Grownups don't have sleepovers; they're not supposed to." Puck swallows hard. "She never missed our things until stupid Finn—"

"Sophie," she winces because Uncle Puck never uses her real name. "Just because your mommy has a new friend doesn't mean she loves you less; Finn is her boyfriend, but you are still her baby girl."

"What's a boyfriend?" Puck groans, realizing he's made a mistake. "Uncle Puck, what's a boyfriend?"

"Soph, that is a question for your mommy, ok? Why don't you let me fix your braids and then we'll make lunch." She looks up at him with a sort of weak smile, and he relaxes, hoping the crisis was at least temporarily averted.

She sits on the floor and lets him try to braid her hair; he's not as good as her mother, but she doesn't say anything because that wouldn't be very nice. She really wishes that her mother was there to do it, but then she remembers that she was with stupid Finn; a frown darkens her features, and pouting even after Uncle Puck finishes her braids and makes her a peanut butter and strawberry jam sandwich, no crusts, seems to be the order of the afternoon; by the time they are watching Beauty and the Beast and Belle is singing "Something There" her mommy arrives home, and when Sophie rushes to the door, she is disappointed to see the giant kissing her mommy again.

"Hi! You must be Sophie." Finn says with a smile, and he does that thing she hates where taller people almost kneel and speak down to her. "I've heard so much about you. My name is Finn."

"Hi Mommy!" She ignores Finn on purpose, even though she knows it's rude, and it isn't until Rachel gives her a look that she offers him a greeting. "Hello, Finn."

"She's just shy." Rachel says quietly when Sophie hurries off, and Puck strides up beside her to tell her that Sophie is hiding in her room.

"Hey, Finny D!" The two men bump fists, and Rachel lets out a soft laugh. "I see you and Rach are getting along pretty good; I'm glad. But I've gotta get going, promised Tana I'd get Beck's her meds. See ya at the station."

"I've got to get home too, baby. I'll call you later." Finn kisses her cheek, and she smiles, unable to resist a soft peck to his lips.

She pretends like she wasn't watching and didn't see her mommy kissing the giant again, and when Rachel scoops her up and promises that as soon as she changes they'll go shopping and get hot chocolate because it's so cold out, it's almost enough to make her forget that she feels like her mommy is spending more time with Finn than she is with her. It's funny to see Rachel's face turn pink when she asks her what a boyfriend is and whether she spends the night with Finn sometimes because he's her boyfriend, and Rachel stutters an answer that doesn't make much sense to a five year old. So instead of asking again, Sophie just asks her to fix the braids Uncle Puck messed up and then hurries to get her shoes on so that they can leave.

_iv._

Stupid Finn has had dinner with them way too many times, or at least that's what Sophie thinks; she's starting to feel like Finn's invading their home and their lives more than ever, and all she wants is for him to go away. Several times he's spent the night, and she doesn't like that either, because sometimes she gets bad dreams and sleeps with her mommy; she can't sleep in the same bed with Stupid Finn. The big snow storm frightened her and kept them trapped in the house for two days, but she couldn't cuddle with her mother because Stupid Finn was always around. It's not that her mommy ignores her just that she doesn't know what to do anymore. She doesn't like the way he kneels down to talk to her or tries so hard to be her friend; he's really nice all the time, so it makes her feel bad when she wants to hate him. They don't need him; they don't need anybody. She had a daddy, but he's gone; Stupid Finn can't replace him, and she doesn't want him too. There's nothing she can do or say because she doesn't want to make her mommy sad or angry; she knows her mommy likes Stupid Finn a lot, but she really wishes it was still just the two of them.

It happens one morning after he stays the night, and she isn't even sure why she decides to shout at him at all; he's always doing stuff like he wants to make her like him more, like bringing over ice cream or stickers or new markers when he comes to stay, and that morning she comes stumbling into the kitchen to find her mommy dressed in a huge navy blue t-shirt with white letters that say NYFD on it and Stupid Finn standing next to the stove with making pancakes. She can smell the chocolate and immediately knows that the pancakes are chocolate chip, something that is a traditional Mommy and Sophie on Sunday morning treat, and she pushes the chair next to her hard enough to make a loud bang when it bounces off the table, making her mommy and Finn turn and look at her.

"Sophia Marie!" Her mother sounds angry, and she hates it.

"What's he doing?" Sophie points at Finn, who looks startled and worried.

"I'm just finishing up chocolate chip pancakes, Soph." He offers her this half smile that only makes her even angrier.

"Mommy is supposed to make me pancakes. It's _our_ thing, not yours." Crossing her arms and stomping a foot, she tries to make a big show of her anger; everyone says she got her dramatic nature from Rachel. "And don't call me Soph! You can't take my mommy away, and you can't be my daddy; I had a daddy, and you aren't him. I don't want you!"

"Sophie, oh Ladybug please," but Sophie is already storming off as fast as she can go. "Finn, I'm sorry; she's just a little high strung, and this is all strange and difficult for her."

"I get it, Rach, and I understand. I wasn't exactly thrilled when my mom remarried, and I was in high school when it happened." He kisses her forehead and moves to away from the stove. "Maybe I should get going."

"Finn, please stay; Sophie will come around eventually. She just has trouble adjusting because for the three years since Charlie—well it's been Mommy and Sophie against the world, and now she's having to share me again." A soft sigh escapes her lips, and he presses a soft kiss to the top of her head before ducking down to kiss her lips. "It'll be alright, baby."

"Rachel, I love you, but maybe we should slow things down a little bit, at least for awhile." It's all she can do not to wince. "I don't want to upset Sophie, and I know how much you love her; the last thing I want is for your family to be messed up because of me. So I think it's best if we just slow down again."

Twenty minutes later, when she comes out of her bedroom, she can hear Rachel crying in her room, and she finds half finished pancakes in the kitchen; she's not sure what's going on at all, and that makes her feel terrible because Finn's gone and her mommy is crying. Part of her is happy because she doesn't like Finn, although she doesn't understand why, but mostly she feels sad because her mommy is sad. Sophie peeks into her mommy's room to see that Rachel's buried her nose in the pillow she's holding, and she's still crying; so she does what she always does and crawls on the big bed next to her mother, wrapping her arms around her in a hug.

"Mommy, don't cry." She whispers with tears in her eyes, looking up at Rachel. "You don't need him cause you got me."

"I know I've got you, Ladybug." Rachel scoops her up and settled her in her lap. "But sometimes Mommy gets lonely and needs grown up people."

"Aunt Tana and Uncle Puck are grownups." It's so simple that she doesn't see how her mommy doesn't understand. "You don't need Finn."

"Baby, I know it's hard for you to understand, but I like Finn a lot." Rachel swallows, trying not to cry. "He's special, sort of like your daddy was."

"Daddy's gone, and Finn can't be my daddy." This whole thing makes no sense. "I don't need another daddy."

"Oh Ladybug, I'm not trying to replace your daddy, but sometimes I miss him so much that it hurts my heart." Dropping a kiss on top of Sophie's head, she hugs her tight. "I know you don't understand this, but Finn makes it not hurt so much."

"You don't love daddy anymore?" She's shocked, and it scares her. "Does that mean that you can stop loving me?"

"No baby girl, it doesn't mean that at all. A person can love lots of people at the same time; you love Papa and Grampy and Uncle Puck and Aunt Tana and me all at the same time, right?" Sophie nods, playing with the hem of her pajama top. "Well, see I can love you and daddy and even Finn, and still have plenty of love for everyone else. I'll never stop loving your daddy, Sophie, and I'll never stop loving you."

Sophie's smart for a five year old; everyone says so, even her teachers at the Montessori school. So she sort of understands what her mother is saying about loving a bunch of people at once. But she has to think about it because it's hard. Climbing out of Rachel's lap she goes to get ready for her bath, and she looks back at her mother in hopes that she's not crying anymore; but Rachel's still crying softly on the bed, and as she leaves the room, Sophie starts crying too.

_v._

She's not sure why, but one afternoon right before Hanukkah her mommy says that she and Finn aren't together anymore; at first she's happy because it means that things can go back to being the way they were, before Finn, and she likes that. But things aren't the same anymore. Rachel is a lot sadder, like after her daddy's accident, and she doesn't sing and dance as much. It's not as fun as it used to be, even if they do everything the same. She overhears Rachel telling Aunt Tana that Finn thought it was for the best too, and that maybe it was still too soon to see people, whatever that means; she knows she's not supposed to listen in on people, but she can't help it because they keep saying her name and talking about how young she is. It's then she realizes that she's the reason that her mommy and Finn aren't seeing each other anymore.

During Hanukkah, things seem better because they love the holidays; they go to Papa and Grampy's house four out of the eight days, and her mother lights the candles, even on nights they aren't home. Uncle Puck and Aunt Tana come over to celebrate even though Aunt Tana isn't Jewish, and everything is nice. But things don't feel right, and she can tell that her mommy is still sad about Finn. She doesn't want him to come back, but she wants to see her mommy happy again; she wishes that she could make it better, but she's only five. It hurts because she doesn't make her mother happy like she used to, or at least that's how it seems; she remembers when her daddy died and her mommy pulled her aside after the funeral and told her that they'd always be together, Mommy and Sophie against the world. She thought that meant that they didn't need anyone else, but she's beginning to wonder why it isn't enough.

She catches Rachel watching the news at the end of December, doing this thing where she covers her eyes and mutters things under her breath because there is a fire on TV; it's sort of scary because she's never seen her mommy this scared, except when she heard about the accident. She knows that Uncle Puck is a fireman and so is Finn, and she wonders if she's worried about one of them being hurt or something. The idea of Uncle Puck getting hurt is scary because she loves him so much, and so she runs out of the room when there's a fire on TV, that way she doesn't have to think about it. Aunt Tana bangs on the apartment door, and when Rachel opens the door Sophie sees Becca holding Aunt Tana's hand really tight; they both look really upset, and suddenly she feels really scared because it looks like they've been crying.

All Sophie hears is the word hurt before Aunt Tana practically throws herself into Rachel's arms with this awful sobbing sound, and Becca looks so lost that Sophie doesn't know what to do. Her mommy tells her to put her shoes on because they need to leave right away, and five minutes later they're trying to get a cab while Rachel tries to tie Sophie's shoes before it arrives. She doesn't really want to go to the hospital because there are all kinds of beeps and it smells funny, or at least that's what she tells her mother as they are sitting in the cab; really it's because she doesn't want to remember that day when the machines in her daddy's room started beeping like crazy and they rushed her out and made her sit with Uncle Puck in the waiting room. Her daddy never came out of the hospital, and she doesn't want to go. But Rachel pats her leg and tells her that this is different. Sophie knows better; Uncle Puck is in the hospital now, and that means he might not come out. Aunt Tana says something about burns and smoke, and then she says Finn's name too; when Rachel starts to cry, Sophie crawls onto her mommy's lap and clings to her coat.

"I don't wanna go in." She watches the snow fall outside the window, waiting with Becca outside Uncle Puck's room, and when her mother and Aunt Tana come to get them, she takes a few steps back. "It's beeping in there."

"Ladybug, don't you want to see Uncle Puck and tell him to get well soon?" Santana picks Becca up and carries her into the room, and Rachel kneels next to Sophie. "It's not like Daddy, baby girl. Uncle Puck is awake."

Reluctantly she allows her mommy pick her up and carry her into the room, and she lets out a little gasp because Uncle Puck's whole arm is wrapped up in bandages and there are some on his face and chest. She knows it's not polite to stare, but she can't help it; when both feet are back on the floor, she leans over the bed and asks him if he hurts, and he smiles and tells her just a little. It can't be the truth cause she knows it hurts to burn yourself, but she laughs because he does and then turns to look up at Rachel, who squeezes Puck's good hand and leans forward to kiss his forehead and tell him she's glad he's alright. Sophie hears him say that Finn's in the other bed behind the curtain, and she knows where her mother will be going before she even moves; when Rachel walks away, Sophie stays put because she doesn't want to see Finn. She doesn't want to see him because she doesn't want to like him; she doesn't want to feel bad about him getting hurt because that's the way she felt after Daddy's accident. Feeling bad for Finn would be like forgetting Daddy.

When she finds the courage to peek in on her mommy and Finn, she sees Rachel crying and holding Finn's hand really tight; he's got bandages on his neck and chest and arm, and his leg is in a cast. She can hear Rachel murmuring about how brave he is, and how much she loves him and was afraid she'd lost him; suddenly Sophie feels guilty because Finn made her mommy happy when they were together and they aren't together because of her and now her mommy isn't as happy.

_vi._

No one ever asked her how she felt about any of it, which she thinks isn't fair, but she's still surprised when Finn comes to their apartment a month after they saw him in the hospital; he's still using crutches and limping, and there are still bandages on his neck and arm. It kind of scares her, but when he comes into her bedroom and sits next to her on the bed she tries to be polite and not stare. It looks like he really hurts, and part of her wants to say she's sorry.

"Sophie, I know you don't like me very much, but I really like your mommy a lot." He starts slowly, and she doesn't understand what's going on. "I don't want to take her from you or anything, and I definitely don't want to try to replace your daddy. But I really would like to start seeing your mommy again because she means a lot to me. Would that be OK with you?"

"Um," At first she doesn't know how to respond; no one has ever asked her permission before, especially not about grownup things.

"I don't want to upset you, Sophie, and neither does your mommy." Finn's voice is really soft. "We really like each other, but you are more important to her. You are a very important little girl, and we won't do anything unless you are OK with it."

"Do you love Mommy?" It's rude to ask things like that, but she can't help it. "Mommy loves you."

"I love your mommy very much." She thinks she sees him tearing up, and it's weird cause she thinks boys aren't supposed to cry like that. "She's a very special lady."

"I guess it's OK then." She's had a lot of time to think about it, and while she's not sure she wants him to replace her daddy, she does want her mommy to smile again. "But don't hurt her, OK? I don't want Mommy to cry."

He hugs her then, even though she knows it must hurt, and she finds that she likes his hugs; they're warm and tight like a real hug is supposed to be, and it makes her feel safe and happy and sort of loved. When Rachel comes in, she kisses Sophie's cheek and hugs her too before kissing Finn; she assures them that the tears are happy tears, and Sophie is sandwiched between them in a warm embrace. Vaguely she remembers something like this happening when her daddy was alive, and this is almost as good.

Her mommy and Finn start seeing each other again, and they take their time with stuff for the most part; eventually they start taking Sophie places too, like to the zoo and to the aquarium, and she wonders briefly if this is what things would've been like if her daddy was still alive. It takes almost two months before Rachel sleeps over with Finn, and when she does, she tells Sophie where she's going, even though she doesn't really explain why except to say something about grownup time. A month later they ask her if she would be alright with Finn sleeping over because they've been consulting her every step of the way, and soon she gets used to Finn staying with them overnight more often than not; she even lets him do stuff like read her bed time stories even though it's usually Rachel's job. The only thing she won't let him do is sing to her because her mommy does all the singing, but one night it's stormy outside and the thunder scares her; it's Finn who rushes into her room when she lets out a little cry. He sings this cute song about Winnie the Pooh, and it makes her feel so much better; the next night Finn convinces Rachel to sing it too, and Sophie feels like maybe this is what it's like to have both a mommy and a daddy again. She likes it, but she's afraid it might mean that she's forgetting her real daddy, which makes her feel bad again.

They ask her if she'd be ok with Finn moving in, and at first she doesn't understand; there's a small argument and some foot stomping when she realizes that Rachel means for Finn to live with them. Instinct tells Sophie that if Finn moves in then he'll be sleeping in the same bed with her mommy every night, just like her daddy did, and that means that her daddy has been replaced. They discuss it for what seems like forever, and it's a week before Sophie agrees that it will be OK for Finn to move in with them. Even Aunt Tana and Uncle Puck work to tell her that it's OK to like Finn and still love her daddy. After that they act more like a family, and sometimes the kids at school ask her things like is Finn her daddy now, which upsets her; Papa and Grampy come over for dinner one night, and they talk about how much they like Finn and how nice he is. They go visit Finn's mother and step-father, and they are really nice and tell Sophie how cute and sweet she is; she hasn't really seen her daddy's parents in about two years because they moved all the way across the country after the accident. She likes Burt and Carole a lot, but she's not sure what to call them or say to them. She hears the grownups whispering later about how much they'd like them to become a family, and she thinks that wouldn't be such a bad idea.

_vii._

Finn asks her if it's alright for him to marry her mommy, and at first she's worried about what that means; he promises that he loves Rachel more than anything, and he tells her that he loves her too. Sophie sort of feels bad because her mommy is supposed to be married to her daddy, but she really loves Finn, which also seems wrong because he isn't her daddy. It takes her a day or two to agree, but when she does, Finn scoops her up and hugs her and says thank you over and over. When he asks Rachel to marry him Sophie cries happy tears because she hasn't seen her mommy this happy in a long time; they're going to be a real family.

Her mommy marries Finn in June in Central Park, and she gets to stand next to her mommy's friends Mercedes and Tina and Aunt Tana in a pretty pink bridesmaid's dress instead of being the flower girl because Finn's stepbrother Kurt's daughter is three and he wants her to be the flower girl; she doesn't mind it though because she feels pretty and grown up, and her mommy looks really pretty in her white dress with the pink sash around it. It's not like normal wedding dresses or the one Aunt Tana wore because it's short and really simple, but she's never seen her mommy look so pretty. She smiles and holds her flowers and doesn't fidget or make faces when Finn kisses Rachel after they say I do, and she gets to throw birdseed as they walk by to the car; at the reception she gets to eat as much cake as she wants because Finn says it's her special day too, and she lets the words I love you slip out for the first time and doesn't feel as guilty about it as she thought she would be.

Things settle down after Rachel and Finn come back after a week in Hawaii for what Rachel tells her is a special vacation for married people, and Finn promises that they'll take a real vacation really soon and take her with them; they're a family now, but it takes awhile for Sophie to feel like it's ok to call Finn anything other than Finn. One afternoon he picks her up from ballet class, and she's too excited about getting to be in the recital to think about anything else; that's when it slips out, and she practically shrieks the word daddy as she runs into his arms. It doesn't faze her, and a smile lights up Finn's face; he's her daddy now, and she loves him. Later that night they're sitting around the dinner table and Finn asks her if she would like him to adopt her. She doesn't understand because he's already her daddy, but he explains that it would mean that she would get to have his last name, which kind of makes her excited.

"So you'd really be my daddy then?" She asks, putting her chocolate milk down on the table. "Like 'fficially?"

"You could say that. You'd be Sophia Marie Hudson; would you like that?" Sophie sees him reach for her mommy's hand, and she nods.

"I'd like that; then we'd be a real family." She smiles brightly, looking from Rachel to Finn, from her mommy to her new daddy.


End file.
